Laptop Cooler for Overheating?

While at work one of my laptops that I use (an older HP Pavilion DV9700T) tends to overheat after half an hour to an hour lately, and I’d like something to have it not do this anymore. Should I look into a laptop cooler for it? What could also be causing this problem? Or is it just age? Suggestions?

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Get a shopvac and suck out the dust. Do not get a can of air to push it out. This is a low-tech solution that works almost all of the time.
Laptop coolers are pretty much a waste of money, as they do not remove the heat from the circuit board and HDD directly, where it does the damage.

If it still overheats, then get out a screwdriver and find the disassembly manual and open it up carefully to clean out the dust.

Laptop coolers are pretty much a waste of money, as they do not remove the heat from the circuit board and HDD directly, where it does the damage.

They reduce the overall heat load thereby allowing the motherboard and HDD cooling to work more efficiently. I've looked at temp monitors before and after placing a laptop on a cooling pad and the CPU and HDD sensors did in fact register a 20 degree drop in temp.

Basically you just have to clean the exhaust module (fan and air flow) make
sure that there are no blockage whatsoever along the exhaust system and
check the fan per se if it really is working. High possibility that your
fan is dying.

Laptop coolers do work - they sell a whole lot of them but they are not
the ideal solution for your problem.
The last couple of laptops I saw had fans with PWM that managed when the
fan came on to save on the battery.
On start up the fan came on but shut off immediately because the sensor
controlling the fan was giving up.
The fan should have come back on but failed to do so. In any event I
assume your laptop is out of warranty.
Keeping the air vents clear and the dust out of your laptop is a must at
all times if you plan to keep it but
in your case it sounds like the main trigger sensor for the PWM that
controls your fan is gone. It is a microscopic
component and if you are a techie you can safely bypass it. Your fan
will run all the time and will use a little more
power but since the cooling in that computer is not that good to begin
with it will not do any harm.

Because this is an older laptop, as a matter of course I would remove the heatsink and replace the thermal paste or pad, while I was at it I would replace the fan, this is not an expensive maintenance job just could quite possibly save you a fortune.

You can use a laptop cooler to further improve the cooling and reduce the stresses on the CPU and chipset, giving you better performance; albeit small, but nevertheless you're helping the CPU to run better.

It amazes me that laptops work as well as they do given the abuse they get, I had one guy use a pillow to " drown out the buzzing noise his laptop was making..." I wonder why it was buzzing sheeez!, I've had people tell me they use an icepack on the pillow to cool it... O.M.G. do these people want to die!!! All this to save about ?20.00

Sadly, it sounds as though the cooling fan, which pushes the internal heat out of the laptop, has failed. I'd grab a flashlight and point it towards the fan's vents to ensure the fan is still indeed spinning. Also, the problem could be caused by a malfunctioning battery, which may need replacement.

@They reduce the overall heat load thereby allowing the motherboard and HDD cooling to work more efficiently. I've looked at temp monitors before and after placing a laptop on a cooling pad and the CPU and HDD sensors did in fact register a 20 degree drop in temp.

Yes, but a laptop cooler is a treatment. Removing dust & grime in order to let the fan take the heat away is the cure. If laptop coolers were the best way to remove heat, then the laptop makers would incorporate them into their designs.

From the laptops I have worked on I would also note that dust buildup on the fan blades AND on the radiator fins at the exit vent opening are areas that need attention. Since the fan speeds can be quite high, I would imagine that a lot of aerodynamic quality of these blades would be degraded by this dust. I use a dental brush of the type to go between the teeth. And a can of compressed air, but deliberately jamming the fan during the blast so as to prevent it from possible damage from over revving.

I hate to break it to you but the HP DV9000 series has a design flaw with the heatsink and the video chip placement. HP had a recall on this units when they were still in the first year of selling them. There has also been some class action lawsuits brought against HP regarding this issue but that window I believe is now closed. There are some YouTube videos on what some have been doing to "fix" the issue but in does require an advanced aptitude with motherboard modifications. A cooling fan with double fans would be a good place to start. I would also store my data on an external device as there is usually little warning of failure and it may be the last time you're able to use the unit. Since it involves heat and graphics, you would be forced to remove the hard drive and connect it to another device to extract your data. purchasing a new motherboard with the same design is not advised and redesigned motherboards, if any still exist, are very expensive given this units age.

In general, laptop heats up due to internal fan failure or due to lack of ventilation. It would have been better, if you mentioned the purchase date of your PC.

Second thing is check out in the task bar, what is consuming more of your CPU and if possible (take a wise decision) end that process. This activity can show some affect on your overall PC performance from then on.

I would like to recommend going for vacuuming of your laptop. I mean get rid of the dust which has accumulated inside the PC. But do it in a professional way and do not use the vacuum cleaner directly. Instead, use compressed air cans which blow out the dust from the internal parts of the PC. Do blow air with your mouth on the PC internal components as it can damage the components due to water vapors. If you can take the help of a hardware engineer it will be better.

Now, coming to fan replacement or changing the design, it is not always good to go for DIY service. I recommend going for a nearest service center of HP or at least to a hardware guy. Go for a heat sink if he thinks you can go for it. At the same time, get the exhaust fan replaced by him.

I am sure that one of the above suggestions will surely help your out in your mission......Best.....!